<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Ever On by alexcat</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27781141">Ever On</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexcat/pseuds/alexcat'>alexcat</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Romance, character death though not during story, what happened to the tesseract?</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:36:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,720</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27781141</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexcat/pseuds/alexcat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Thor comes to visit Steve after the dust settles and plans change.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Steve Rogers/Thor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Marvel Trumps Hate 2019</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Ever On</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightyrock/gifts">flightyrock</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Marvel Trumps Hate 2019 fill. I hope this is something that you want.  It's shorter than I meant it to be, but Steve and Thor insisted this was all they intended to tell me.</p><p>***</p><p><i>Roads go ever ever on,</i><br/><i>Over rock and under tree,</i><br/><i>By caves where never sun has shone,</i><br/><i>By streams that never find the sea;</i><br/><i>Over snow by winter sown,</i><br/><i>And through the merry flowers of June,</i><br/><i>Over grass and over stone,</i><br/><i>And under mountains in the moon.</i><br/>~~ JRR Tolkien</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Part 1 </p><p>Steve was at loose ends. The battle was done and won, but at a huge cost. They’d buried their dead, but the grief would never be gone completely for all they’d lost. Sam had taken the mantle as Captain America with Bucky to support him along the way. </p><p>He was staying at a house on the lake near Pepper and Tony’s house. He’d been puttering around for several days, feeding the squirrels and taking long walks when he realized that he might be a hundred and five in real years, but he’d been actually living for thirty-nine years.  He wasn’t an old man yet, even if life made him feel that way. </p><p>He was packing up his stuff to go back to Brooklyn to the little apartment he’d kept there during the five years after the Snap. He was going back home and going back to his counseling and group therapies. He needed something to make him feel useful, needed. </p><p>Someone knocked on his door. When he went to answer, there stood Thor. He’d cut his hair and gone were the “Dude” clothes. He was dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt with Yggdrasill on the front. </p><p>Steve smiled and invited him in. </p><p>He’d always liked Thor and they’d spent a lot of time together after the battle of Wakanda. As depressed as Thor had been then, things got worse for him after he’d killed Thanos and he’d sort of walled himself off from them all and become a person of ridicule for some of them, even for himself sometimes. </p><p>Steve had never ridiculed him. As a matter of fact, he’d always had a bit of crush on the big Asgardian and him being overweight and a shell of his former self had not changed that. Steve still liked him a lot, still felt that little spark. </p><p>“What brings you to the lake?” Steve showed him in and invited him to sit on the sofa. “Want something to drink?”</p><p>“I’m fine.”</p><p>“How are you?” Steve sat down beside Thor and looked into his face, into his eyes. His eyes were clear – he apparently had stopped drinking so much. The haircut and trimmed beard made him look more like himself, too.</p><p>“I’m much better than I was. I – I was going to travel to space with Quill and his crew, but I’ve changed my mind.” </p><p>“Oh?” Steve wondered why on earth he’d turn down an adventure like that.</p><p>“You know that Loki from the battle of New York is still out there somewhere?  Maybe in another timeline, but he’s out there and he’s alive.” </p><p>Steve nodded. That was a loose end they’d never managed to tie up.</p><p>“I need to find him, or at least search for him. He is my brother, after all, and all the family I have left.” </p><p>“There are still a few Pym particles left. We have the machine to send us to 2012. We could start there, where he escaped,” Steve said. </p><p>“We? You’d consider going?” </p><p>“It’s not like I have a lot to do these days, since Sam has taken the Captain America mantle.”</p><p>Thor smiled, reminding Steve of how his smile could light up a room. “I would love to have your company.” </p><p>“I need to tie up some things here and I’ll be ready.”</p><p>Thor stood and stuck out his hand to shake Steve’s, something he’d definitely learned from Earth.  “I should go then. You won’t need me in the way. I’ll be back soon.” </p><p>Steve pulled Thor in for a hug and then looked into his eyes. “You can sleep on my sofa if you want. You don’t have to go if you have nothing pressing today. I’ll order some takeout and we can catch up. I want to hear more about New Asgard.” </p><p>Thor smiled and sat again. “Valkyrie is a fine ruler. I call her the king, but she says she isn’t. The land is prospering finally and the people seem happy there. My father chose well.”</p><p>They chatted about New Asgard and what Steve had been doing for a bit. Steve ordered Chinese and they talked some more. Thor told stories of Asgard and his years as a soldier with Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. Steve talked about his time with the Howling Commandos during World War II.  </p><p>“I know Loki has been bad more than he’s been good, but he is my brother, even if we do not share parents. We grew up as brothers. I need to find him and try to save him if I can.” </p><p>Steve nodded in understanding. “I always needed to find Bucky and make sure he was all right. Even when he was the Winter Soldier, he was still like a brother to me.” </p><p>Dinner came and they talked more as they ate. Steve had never known Thor to be so chatty, but he was glad. He’d not had anyone to talk to at all since Natasha was gone. Losing her had been as crushing as losing Tony, maybe more so. She was his best friend. </p><p>“I talked to my mother when Rabbit and I went to Asgard. It was wonderful and it also broke my heart. We were there on the day my mother died. She was so wise and so kind. It felt a lot like losing her again.”</p><p>“I didn’t know. I’m so sorry. I lost my mother when I was eighteen. She’s the one who taught me to stand up for right, no matter what.”</p><p>“We had strong mothers. We were lucky.” </p><p>Steve nodded. “We certainly were.” </p><p>They talked into the night. </p><p>“What happened with you and Jane?” Steve asked. He’d met Jane Foster a few times. She seemed nice though an odd match for Thor, he thought. </p><p>“I think when she went to Asgard and carried the Aether, she became so stressed that she simply wanted to distance herself from such things and thus from me as well.” </p><p>“Have you seen her since the last battle?” </p><p>“I talked with her on the phone a few times. She is well and working hard. I do miss her.” He looked sad thinking of her. </p><p>Perhaps he’d better change the subject, Steve thought.  It was getting late when Steve stood. “You take my bed tonight and I’ll sleep out here. Tomorrow, we’ll start planning our trip back in time.”</p><p>Thor argued a few minutes that he should sleep on the sofa, but in the end, Steve won out.  </p><p>After Thor went to bed, Steve lay on the sofa and thought about the future, his future, to be exact.  He hadn’t decided what to do. He’d given some thought to going back to Peggy, back to a time he understood, back to the love of his life. But was she the love of his life or was it mostly nostalgia? He’d loved others – Natasha, Tony, and Bucky. Could he live that life now, being her husband and hiding from the world? </p><p>He finally drifted off and morning came as morning always does. Thor was up when Steve woke. He heard the shower running. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. It looked like he had found himself an adventure and a companion. </p><p>~</p><p>Part 2</p><p>They began getting ready that very day, tying up loose ends and such so they could leave without worrying about when to come back. </p><p>“Where would Loki go with the Tesseract?” Steve asked Thor. </p><p>“Home, I’d think. He’d slither in and hide it somewhere. He knows every inch of Asgard and he might complain about not being a real child of Asgard, but it is still his home, his only real home.”</p><p>“Then we’ll go to Asgard after New York,” Steve said. </p><p>Steve was excited about the upcoming adventure, more than he ever thought he’d be.  He hadn’t thought anything would excite him again. After all he’d been through and all he’d done, he’d thought resting was what he wanted, but it wasn’t. He wanted to do something useful again. </p><p>The night before they were to leave, he was in bed and he heard Thor moving around. He got up and went to the kitchen. Thor sat at the table with no lights on.<br/>
Steve walked over and touched his shoulder. “You okay, pal?”</p><p>“Thinking about Nat and Tony.” </p><p>Steve put an arm around him from behind and hugged him. “I miss them both so much, too.” </p><p>“We all lost so much,” Thor said as he put his hand on Steve’s arm. </p><p>Steve had an urge to kiss his new companion, but he was worried that as fragile as Thor seemed to be, it might be a good idea to wait a while, until Thor seemed to be on more solid footing. “We’ll get through this, Thor. One day at a time.”</p><p>Thor nodded. “I should get some sleep, shouldn’t I?” </p><p>“Yep. I’ll see you in the morning.” He gave him another hug and headed for bed. </p><p>They were up and at the time travel machine early. Bruce was there as well. Sam and Bucky even showed up to see them off. </p><p>“You two try not to get into too much trouble,” Bucky said, hugging Steve. </p><p>“You take care of Sam for me,” Steve said to him. </p><p>Bucky chuckled. “Of course.” </p><p>Steve caught something in his voice that said there was more to the two of them than just friendship. “Like that, is it?” Steve asked, looking into Bucky’s eyes.  </p><p>“Oh yeah. It’s like that. You behave, and go ahead and fall for Thor. You’ve always liked him.” He shrugged. “I don’t want you to be alone either.”</p><p>After their goodbyes, he and Thor got onto the time machine and the next thing they knew, they were standing in New York during the battle of New York. They realized quickly that they needed to hide. Steve could still blend in. He was even dressed in his Cap suit, but Thor was very different from the way he looked in 2012.</p><p>They ducked into Avengers Tower. </p><p>“We know it happened when you, Stark and the Ant guy were here before,” Thor said. </p><p>“Yes, and it was after the battle. Pierce had showed up and wanted both Loki and the Tesseract. I was fighting myself and getting the scepter, while Stark and Lang were fucking things up.” He grinned. “Lang was so pissed at Stark,” he said, remembering the silly argument between Tony and Scott. </p><p>“Well, it’s getting pretty quiet out there. I’d say it’s about over,” Thor said. </p><p>“How do we plan to catch him? Or go with him?” Steve asked. “We never decided that, did we?” </p><p>“We’re about to get our chance.” </p><p>Loki was being escorted by the Avengers. Pierce and the STRIKE team with Rumlow and the others flanked Pierce. They spotted the Tony from their time. Steve hadn’t given this part enough thought. </p><p>God, there he was. His Tony. The Tony he’d loved. And there was Natasha. His heart pounded as he looked at them. He wasn’t sure, for a moment there, if he could leave this time with them still here. </p><p>Thor touched his shoulder and they both turned all their attention on Loki. He saw them, but there was little he could do in the confusion of Stark’s apparent heart attack. Then Hulk banged out of the stairwell and the Tesseract went flying across the floor. </p><p>Both men rushed Loki when he picked up the Tesseract and, suddenly, they were all in a room in Asgard.  With Loki.</p><p>Loki didn’t say anything because the muzzle was still on him. He was still shackled, too. </p><p>Thor took the Tesseract from his hands. “You don’t need this, brother.” </p><p>“Should I take his gag off?” Steve asked. </p><p>Thor grinned. “Do you want to hear his endless twaddle?” Thor asked. </p><p>Steve laughed. “No, I might have heard enough from him a long time ago. He does go on and on sometimes.” </p><p>Loki was motioning for them to take the shackles and gag off.</p><p>“Maybe we should just take the Tesseract and go,” Steve said. </p><p>Thor shook his head. “He may be the only surviving Loki in existence anywhere. I rather think we might need to keep him close.” </p><p>Steve nodded and stepped close to Loki. He removed the muzzle.</p><p>“If you think I give a fuck what is going on, then -” </p><p>Steve slapped him. “Shut up. You talk too damned much.” </p><p>Loki looked at Thor. “What has happened to you, brother?” </p><p>“Time, Loki, time.” </p><p>Loki held up his hands. “Aren’t you going to take these off?”</p><p>“No, I don’t think so,” Thor told him. </p><p>“You look horrid. You’re – fat!” Loki blurted out at Thor.</p><p>Steve grabbed him by his shirt. “Shut your mouth.” </p><p>Thor chuckled. “Leave him alone. I’m certainly not what I once was.” </p><p>Steve let go. He shook his head. “None of us are. You look good to me,” and he meant it. </p><p>Loki momentarily turned into the Thor of old and laughed, then turned back into himself.  </p><p>“Perhaps we should talk to Heimdall. He sees everything and may already know what has happened,” Thor said. “Or maybe we can talk father into putting Loki in the dungeon and locking the Tesseract back up. Would that make the time right again?” Thor said.</p><p>“I don’t think we can change what has already happened. I think we’d be making yet another time line,” Steve said. Then he sighed. “Or not!  Fuck if I know.”</p><p>Loki said, “I think -”</p><p>“Shut up, Loki,” Steve told him. </p><p>“Do you know how to get us home?” Thor asked Steve. </p><p>“Yeah, I do. But aren’t you home here?” Steve asked. </p><p>“I wonder if I would come back here looking for my escaped brother in 2012?” Thor said. </p><p>“You two are blathering fools,” Loki told them. He still had no idea what was happening and they hadn’t bothered to catch him up yet. </p><p>Both Steve and Thor said, “Shut up, Loki,” at the same time. </p><p>“We could just take him to the dungeon and put him in a cell for now. He’ll be safe and we can take the Tesseract with us,” Thor said. “I can tell my mother what has happened and she will see that he stays and that he is safe.” </p><p>Steve shrugged. “Better than any idea I’ve got. Maybe we take the Tesseract back to the 70s and leave it there.” </p><p>They looked at one another for a moment, both wondering if the same thing would happen again if they did that. Or would there be two Tesseracts? Would it create some sort of time wobble? </p><p>They dragged Loki to Odin’s dungeon.  “You’ll be safe here, brother, and Mother will see that you are treated well. You know that,” Thor told him and put the gag back on him so he wouldn’t argue with them too loudly. As an afterthought, he kissed Loki’s cheek and hugged him. They locked him in. </p><p>After that was done, they went in search of Frigga. </p><p>She did not look the least bit surprised to see her son and his handsome companion.  “You have come from another time, haven’t you?” She hugged Thor and kissed his cheek. “And your friend?” </p><p>“This is Steve, mother. He is one of the men from Earth that I told you about once.”</p><p>“Did You? I don’t remember that.” She smiled wickedly for a moment. She arched an eyebrow and said to Thor, “I would remember one this handsome.” </p><p>“Mother!” </p><p>She looked and Steve and smiled at him, then turned and took his hands.  “My son is quite fond of you, I’m thinking. I’m counting on you to take care of him, you hear?” </p><p>She leaned close and kissed Steve’s cheek. She smelled a little like he remembered his own mother smelling, a sweet perfume of her soap and maybe cookies.  He remembered that Frigga knew magic and wondered she made herself smell that way on purpose.  It didn’t matter. What mattered is that she cared enough to go to the trouble of making him feel at home with her. </p><p>“I will.”  </p><p>“I think you two need to go before my husband finds out that you’ve put your brother in the dungeon.” </p><p>They said their goodbyes and found a place away from prying eyes and Steve set the little device on his arm to return them to New Asgard. That seemed a safe place to go and perhaps get some advice from Valkyrie. </p><p>~~</p><p>Part 3 </p><p>New Asgard was small, little more than a remote fishing village, but it was growing and the people were happy with their King and with their new world. Odin had been right when he found this land for his people. Thor only wished his mother and Heimdall had lived to see it. </p><p>He and Steve simply appeared there. No one even noticed them at first, until Valkyrie came out to greet them. She threw her arms around Thor. </p><p>“You’re looking great, Thor! How are you?” She held him at arm’s length and looked at him.  </p><p>“I am well. How are you?” </p><p>She smiled and nodded at their village. “I’m doing fine and so are our people. We’ll do well here.” </p><p>“How are Korg and Miek?” Thor asked. </p><p>“You’ll have to see yourself.” She turned to Steve. “Ah, Captain America. Welcome to new Asgard.”</p><p>“It’s just Steve Rogers these days.” </p><p>“I’m glad to see you two, but I suspect you are here for a reason.” Valkyrie was as hard to fool as Thor’s mother was. </p><p>“We will tell you later, if that’s all right. I’d love to see my old friends,” Thor said. </p><p>“You know where they live,” Valkyrie told them with a smile. “I’ll see you later.” </p><p>Thor led Steve to the house he had shared with Korg and Miek for five years. Unlike when depressed and weary Thor had lived there, the house was clean and smelled fresh when they went in. Korg sat on the sofa, dressed in a red surfer’s shirt with big pink and white flowers on it.  </p><p>“Thor!” The large rock man rose and greeted Thor in his surprisingly small voice. “It’s been such a long time!”  Thor looked beside Korg but Miek was nowhere to be found. “Miek is with the baby,” Korg told him. “She’ll be glad to see you.”</p><p>“Miek has a baby? Miek is a girl?” Thor asked. Both were a surprise to him.   </p><p>“Our baby. Miek and me. we got married after the battle. We wanted little ones, but interspecies marriages sometimes don’t produce children. Imagine my surprise when we found out she didn’t need any help anyway. She can reproduce all by herself.” </p><p>Thor clapped the rock man on the back happily. “That’s wonderful.” </p><p>Korg looked at them and asked Thor, “So is this one your wife?”</p><p>Thor blushed. “No, no. He is my friend, Steve. He was Captain America at the battle. We came by to talk to the king and thought we’d visit old friends while we’re here.” </p><p>“You have to stay to see Miek and the baby then. We named her Grandmaster Junior.” </p><p>Steve almost laughed, but knew that Korg and Miek were as alien to this world as he’d been when he woke. Naming their baby after their former master was their own business.  </p><p>A few minutes later, Miek, minus her exoskeleton, came into the room. A tiny replica of her toddled behind her. The two of them were insectoid in form and while Miek, herself, was small, the baby was tiny, hardly bigger than a mouse.</p><p>“Hello Miek!  Korg tells us you two are married and have a baby. Congratulations,” Thor told her. </p><p>“She says thank you and she is glad you brought us to this cold, damp world,” Korg told them.  </p><p>“Junior is lovely,” Thor told her and she bobbed a bit, which Steve assumed was thank you. </p><p>They chitchatted a bit more with Korg and Miek, then went to see Valkyrie. As soon as they stepped into her small throne room, she asked them, “Okay, you two, what have you come to ask me? It can’t be good from the guilty looks on your faces.” </p><p>“We went back in time to 2012. We captured Loki and took the Tesseract from him,” Thor told her. </p><p>She rolled her eyes. “I knew it was bad. I don’t think we can keep it here. The people are safe here and we have all had enough trouble for a lifetime. I can’t risk their safety.”  </p><p>Steve smiled at her. “We mostly wanted your advice and to lay low for a few days, before we start the next leg of our journey.” </p><p>“Good!  We will feast tonight!  I still have a few casks of Argardian liquor hid. We will have a few drinks from one of them.” </p><p>“I didn’t know there was any left,” Thor told her. </p><p>She laughed. “And that is why we still have some!” </p><p>“Is that the stuff we drank the night of the party at Avengers Tower?” Steve asked. </p><p>“It is!” Thor laughed his big laugh, the one no one had heard in a long time. “You and I got drunk and you kissed me before Ultron ruined the evening.”</p><p>“Did I?” Steve asked. He acted like he didn’t remember but he did. He had kissed Thor when they’d gone outside to get a breath of air during the party. It had been quite a kiss, too, if he remembered correctly.</p><p>They’d gone out for a breath and while they were standing at the railing on the roof, Steve had marched right up to Thor and kissed him in mid-word. The kiss had gone on for several seconds and had deepened into a tight embrace before they’d heard someone coming and broke apart. </p><p>Thor laughed again. “You don’t fool me. I know you remember. Perhaps we will get drunk enough tonight to kiss again. Who knows?”</p><p>“Come on, you two! Let’s have that drink,” Valkyrie said as she stood and led them to her quarters. She poured them all a shot. They toasted. And drank. </p><p>Steve shook his head as he swallowed the strong liquor. “The only liquor that has made me drunk since the serum.” </p><p>Valkyrie laughed and poured them another. “Here’s to drunken men!” They drank. </p><p>And again. “To drunken women!” Thor said. They drank again.</p><p>“And that’s it for today!” she told them. “We’ll drink some more another day.”</p><p>Valkyrie threw a feast in honor of their guests. Steve finally got enough food to be filled. So did Thor. They told stories of Asgardian valor into the night. The Asgardians enjoyed tales of the Howling Commandos, especially those of Dumdum Dugan. The stories reminded Thor of his companions, the Warriors Three and Sif. He told tales of their adventures, too. Valkyrie had a few stories of her days with the other Valkyrie to tell as well. </p><p>It was way past midnight when they finally left the hall to go to bed. Steve and Thor were to share a room. The palace in New Asgard was not quite as sumptuous as their old world had been. It was just a house a little bigger than the other houses. Neither of them one minded. </p><p>“Do you remember telling me that you wanted to be a Valkyrie when you were little?” She asked Thor. </p><p>He blushed. “I do. And I did. Father was not amused.” </p><p>They all lauighed. </p><p>When they arrived at their room, there was, of course, one bed. Both men were tired, still stuffed from all the food, and maybe more than a little drunk. Both of them changed into the sweats they slept in and soon they were both lying on their backs in the big bed. </p><p>“I slept with Loki when we were little. He wasn’t always trying to kill me. He was scared of monsters and I scared them away for him.” Thor was quiet a moment then laughed. “Once in a while, he did try to kill me though. He turned into a scorpion once and bit me… but since he wasn’t a real one, he only had normal Loki poison.”</p><p>“When I was little, I slept with Ma in the winter, because it was so cold and we didn’t have money for much heat. We’d put on our coats and snuggle under all the quilts we had. After I met Bucky, we stayed at each other’s houses a lot. We’d eat in bed and talk all night. Bucky’s mom would yell for us to go to sleep. Sometimes we didn’t sleep at all.” </p><p>Thor looked over at Steve. “And here we are, grown up and having a sleepover.”</p><p>Steve laughed. “Do you think Valkyrie will come yell at us if we talk too loud?” </p><p>“She’d enjoy it, I expect. Despite her being a fierce warrior, there is much of the mother hen in her.”</p><p>“What do we do after this, Thor?” Steve asked him, suddenly serious.</p><p>“Well, tonight we sleep and we think about tomorrow’s problems tomorrow.” </p><p>“I didn’t know you were so wise,” Steve laughed and yawned. </p><p>“Not wise. Just sleepy. Good night, Rogers.”</p><p>Steve turned onto his side, facing way from Thor and murmured, “Goodnight.”</p><p>Sleep didn’t come as quickly as he wanted. He found himself thinking about his companion, about their adventure and finally about the kiss they’d shared so long ago.  Steve realized that he wasn’t opposed to a relationship with Thor, not at all. </p><p>But was he ready? </p><p>He and Tony, well, what they had was always tumultuous at best, but they had truly loved one another and had mended all their fences in the end. He and Natasha had been lovers, but even more than that, they’d been family. Her loss had been so abrupt and honestly, unexpected, that he still felt raw inside just thinking about her. He would always love Bucky, and while they’d grown and moved on, they’d always be brothers and a little more. </p><p>Thor had lost his entire family and his home as well. He knew those were compounded by the guilt he felt at killing Thanos before they got the stones back. He still blamed himself for the whole thing. Guilt had driven him to hide for five years. Steve was glad every day that Bruce and Rocket had been able to persuade him to come back to New York with them.</p><p>Maybe they weren’t quite ready yet, but they did need one another. Maybe that would be enough for now.  </p><p>Would Thor want to stay with him? Could their friendship become more? Were his thoughts just the ramblings of a drunk old man in the middle of the night, he wondered. </p><p>He finally drifted off to sleep sometime in the wee small hours. When he woke, Thor was spooned behind him, one arm thrown over Steve and holding him tight. He smiled and drifted back into sleep again, safe in Thor’s embrace. </p><p>When morning came, Steve decided to bring up their plans again. He had an idea. </p><p>Thor woke shortly after Steve and grinned at him, a rather bashful one for some reason. “Where shall we go from here?”</p><p>“Would you like to stay in this time or does time matter what time we are in?” Steve asked.</p><p>“I’m not sure it matters that much.”</p><p>“Back when I was in the war in the 1940s, we spent quite a bit of time in the mountains in Europe, in the Alps. We spent time finding Nazi Science Division bases and destroying them, but during the two years that I was on the run, Natasha and I often hiked in the mountains or rented a car and traveled to small mountain villages.”</p><p>Thor sat forward. “What would we do in a place like that?” </p><p>“We’re both strong. There is logging and they grow cattle in the mountains. I can draw and paint. I think we’d get by.” </p><p>“Can you live without being a superhero?” Thor asked him. </p><p>“I hope so. I don’t think I have a job anymore anyway. Sam is more than capable of being Captain America now,” Steve told him as he headed for the bathroom.  “It’s just one idea. I have others…” </p><p>“Are we becoming a couple, Steve?” Thor asked after he came back and sat beside Steve. </p><p>Steve slipped an arm around Thor’s waist. “I – well, I think we might give it a try.”</p><p>Thor kissed his cheek. “I’d like that, I think. I – Jane is the only relationship I really have had. I have shared sex with others, but nothing more.”</p><p>“I loved Peggy but that never got off the ground. Tony – well, we nearly killed one another.  Natasha was – she meant so much to me. Bucky has Sam now. But they’re all gone and you’re here.” </p><p>They sat there, close, not saying anything for a long moment. </p><p>“I have to ask you something,” Thor said. </p><p>“Yeah?” Steve looked into his eyes. </p><p>“Could you always lift it?”</p><p>“Your hammer?  Yeah. I could.” He shrugged and grinned. </p><p>Thor hugged him. “I thought so. Why didn’t you?” </p><p>“You needed me not to. I didn’t have any need to prove anything to anyone. Poor Tony was convinced he could science it up, though.” </p><p>Thor kissed his cheek again and then pressed a sweet kiss to his lips. “Thank you. You were kind to me when the others weren’t so much.” He kissed Steve again. </p><p>“We don’t have to leave our room for a while.” Steve reached up and placed his palm on Thor’s cheek. </p><p>Thor smiled, almost sadly, at him. “Are you sure you want a fat, homeless Asgardian?” </p><p>“I am sure I want you. I don’t care what you are. I want to please you and I want you to please me. Is that enough?” Steve whispered as he leaned close and kissed Thor again. </p><p>Thor lay back and pulled Steve with him. </p><p>*</p><p>They missed breakfast in Valkyrie’s great hall and almost missed lunch as well. </p><p>When they did turn up, she gave them a knowing grin. “I was hoping the two of you would figure out that you belong together,” she told them.</p><p>“We’re not as smart as you, madam king,” Thor said with a laugh. </p><p>*</p><p>They spent several more days in New Asgard with Valkyrie. Steve realized how right Thor was about her being the leader of their people. She was compassionate and intelligent, her love for the people showing in all her decisions. She also had a lot of affection for Thor. </p><p>When they got ready to leave, she hugged them both. </p><p>“I wish you the best and hope you find what you’re searching for.” She looked from one of them to the other, her thoughts quite obvious in her grin. “Take good care of one another, you two.” She kissed each of them on the cheek. </p><p>*</p><p>They travelled back to New York, back to the time machine.  Bruce came out to help them. There were more Pym particles available as Hank had made a few more for emergency use. </p><p>“Are you sure you want to poke that bear?” Bruce asked them when they told him they were going to Asgard to get Loki.  </p><p>“We can’t leave him in the dungeon,” Thor said. </p><p>“Why not?” Bruce asked. It did seem a perfectly legitimate. </p><p>“He’s my brother.”</p><p>“Good luck then!” Bruce said.</p><p>Asgard was hard for Thor. It had been before and still was. To realize that it was all gone and almost everyone he knew was gone was a lot for anyone to bear. Steve knew his closest approximation was his long sleep and waking up to his world being all gone. But he’d not lost his family. Thor had. </p><p>He was sure that was part of the reason Thor wanted Loki back. Steve didn’t blame him in any way for that. He knew that Thor loved the evil little rascal, no matter what he’d done and Steve was willing to do whatever Thor thought best concerning Loki.</p><p>Loki was still in his cell when they got to Asgard. </p><p>He looked at them as they stood outside. “I see you’ve returned. What did you do to me?” He looked angry and more than a little scared.</p><p>“What do you speak of, brother?” Thor asked.</p><p>“Since you left me here, none of my magic works.”</p><p>“Is it not suppressed here in Odin’s dungeon?”</p><p>“Well, you both seemed to think so, but no. That never worked on me until now. I just pretended it did.” </p><p>Thor unlocked the cell and allowed Loki to come out. He stepped out cautiously, as if afraid that Thor would hurt him somehow. Thor put one of Stark GPS bracelets on him. “You have to come with us. We’ll explain later.” </p><p>And they were in New York in 2023. </p><p>Bruce was there, waiting. He looked as shocked as Loki did. </p><p>“Now where to?” he asked them. </p><p>Loki looked at him quite oddly. “What is wrong with him?  He didn’t talk as much when I saw him before.”</p><p>Bruce grinned. “You’re still a puny god, though, Loki.” </p><p>Steve set his GPS as did Thor, then Thor set Loki’s. </p><p>“We can’t tell you that, Bruce. I suspect you’ll figure most of it out anyway eventually. You take care!” Steve said as Bruce flipped the switch.</p><p>*</p><p>For many years, the three of them traveled, sometimes in time, sometimes in space. They used Pym particles when they needed to, and didn’t when they didn’t need to. They rode on space ships now and again and even on an ocean liner once. </p><p>Loki found his place on earth, a small commune in northern California in 1970. He met a girl there and spent several years with her. She grew old and he didn’t age and when she was gone it was time to move on, he did though not even Thor knew where he went after that. </p><p>They both hoped he was happy. </p><p>Steve and Thor traveled the galaxy, righting wrongs, going on adventures and having fun until one day, Steve was too old to be a nomad any longer. He and Thor moved to that little place in the Alps that he’d dreamed of and stayed there several years, until one day, Captain Rogers didn’t wake from his sleep. Thor took him to Brooklyn and buried him beside his parents. </p><p>As for the Tesseract, well, that’s a story for another day.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>My <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/alexcat45"><b>Tumblr</b></a>.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>